Shiba Tatsuya
__FORCETOC__ Shiba Tatsuya (司波 達也) is the main protagonist of The Irregular in Magic High School. He enrolled at the National Magic University Affiliated First High School in April AD 2095 with his younger sister, Miyuki (深雪). He was accepted as one of the students to be placed in the Course 2 curriculum, marking the start of the series events. In his second year, he transferred into the newly-created Magic Engineering Course. Appearance and Personality Tatsuya is 178 cm tall when he enters First High School (178.8 cm by the Nine Schools Competition), well-built and often described as mundane-looking compared to other characters in the series. He's also described through other characters' impressions as serious and competent-looking. He is usually expressionless and very rarely does he get surprised or enthusiastic; but whenever he does, it's often at the minimum level. In the anime, he has dark hair that reaches his clear blue eyes in several unevenly-cut bangs — he shares only his eye color with his sister Miyuki. Her hair color is actually a shade too dark to match his, and her skin is too pale to be a match for his. Tatsuya is normally wearing his green, white, and black school uniform, lacking the eight-petaled flower emblem on his blazer during his first year. At home, he generally wears a nondescript black shirt and pants. Tatsuya is intelligent and analytical. His emotions are merely skewed in a certain direction, with one particular aspect becoming especially sensitive. Thanks to this, he can easily and quickly categorize people into two distinct groups, hostile and non-hostile. (Normal people see 3 types, hostile, neutral and friendly, but they have a hard time quickly determining who is a friend and who is an enemy since they aren't sensitive in this way). This certainly comes in handy for his military and political life and anything related to conflicts (which is almost everything in his life). He doesn't possess the ability to hate nor can he feel any strong emotions like fury, fear, despair, envy, hatred, disgust, gluttony, lust, sloth, and love (with one exception). The only aspect in him that is perfectly natural — the only emotion that remains — is his brotherly love for his sister. Because of this, he tends to either spoil her too much, or be overprotective and completely ruthless when there are threats towards Miyuki's safety. For him, his world revolves around Miyuki and he loves her dearly. In the eyes of their friends, Tatsuya exhibits blatant favoritism towards his sister, and hence is called a siscon Someone with a sister complex. Contrary to the perceptions of many, Tatsuya has emotions and can be kind and caring towards his friends; though he is often irritated by some of them as well. While he cannot feel lust, he can still feel aroused by the actions of certain women (e.g. Mari, Mayumi, and Miyuki). He also acknowledges the charms of females, including his sister, throughout the series. He also worries about his reputation and has some sense of pride though he doesn't seek to attract attention. Due to being treated as a fake magician, he underestimates the merits of his own magic abilities and constantly looks down on himself, having difficulty accepting praise and grasping the meaning beneath indirect words of flirting. He has a bit of an inferiority complex, especially about ordinary things that others recognize or can handle well. He also has what his friends call an 'unexpected flaw' in being quite slow in fathoming others' goodwill or attraction towards him, as he can only interpret them by logical explanation and often questions why people would think positively of himself (as explained from Miyuki's point of view). In a nutshell, his lack of understanding and experience with emotions except for those relating to his sister has caused lots of misunderstanding in his interaction with others. Because Tatsuya has no memories of other feelings since childhood, he does not know how to respond to people when they are conveying their emotions to him, e.g. praising him for his personality or so forth. This leads to him feeling awkward, astonished, or clueless on how to properly reply. Usually, he can deal with the praise expressed due to tangible achievements; but when it comes to anything regarding himself personally, he suffers from inner turmoil of how to respond and may ignore the matter if he has the chance. Background AN19 014.png|Shiba siblings' house Shiba Residence.png|Shiba Residence Shiba Residence at night.png|Shiba Residence Shiba Residence Living RoomA.png|Living Room Shiba Residence Living Room.png|Living Room Tatsuya is the eldest son of Shiba Tatsurou and Shiba Miya. He is eleven months older than his younger and only sibling Miyuki. His birthday falls on April 24th. They are often mistaken as twins for being in the same school year, though they also are sometimes not immediately recognized as siblings. Prior to the timeline at the beginning of the series, their father remarried six months after their mother's death; the two of them are now living on their own in a house which is described as a place that vastly exceeds the average size. Since he was young, one of the only things in which he showed enthusiasm-like qualities was in Magic Engineering and CAD development. He has an aptitude for them and has continually displayed his interest until the present day, as he is aided by the circumstances. Their house has a basement with the same floor layout as the floor above but remodeled as Tatsuya's lab. It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and plentiful space for new types of magic created by Tatsuya to be tested, and for research for other purposes. Yotsuba Tatsuya is a child born of the Yotsuba family. From birth he was the apparent heir for the Yotsuba clan; but after the birth of his sister Miyuki and the discovery of his lack of ability to wield magic as it was intended, he was reduced to being Miyuki's Guardian. Despite the facts of his parentage, he isn't accepted as a legitimate member of the family by many due to the fact that he cannot wield magic freely; the two types of magic he can freely wield are not considered magic by the family's standards due to their nature of only 'destroying' and 'restoring' information, not 'altering' them. At the present time, besides his two natural magics he is only able to use imitation and theoretical magic; something which can be ascribed to his other unique abilities and superior intellect. Despite this deficiency he has taken advantage of his physical prowess and his superpowers to become Miyuki's Guardian, which is considered to be a job of the highest importance in the Yotsuba clan. His combat prowess has also become respected enough that he is now a primary combatant of the Yotsuba clan. Artificial Magician Experiment With the goal of giving Tatsuya the ability to wield magic like everyone else, his mother Shiba Miya and her twin sister Yotsuba Maya experimented on the six-year-old Tatsuya. Miya used the forbidden Outer-Systematic Magic 'Mental Design Interference,' forcibly altering the area in the consciousness that is responsible for strong emotions (called the Limbic System) and installing a Magic Calculation Model in an attempt to create an artificial Magician. However, the operation caused Tatsuya to lose his ability to have strong emotions except for those regarding his sister, in exchange for the installation of another Magic Calculation Area which allows him to use normal magic albeit at a lower speed and power; it is still insufficient for him to be regarded as a 'true magician' by the Yotsuba. It was revealed by Maya that the operation was in fact to modify Tatsuya so he wouldn't lose control of his emotions and become a berserker, destroying the world using his magic. In order to ensure that Tatsuya had something that he was attached to, Miyuki in this case, Miya removed all his emotions but for some reason beyond Miya and Maya he kept his love for Miyuki. Revelation of the past It is revealed that Tatsuya's powers regrowth and decomposition were influenced by the will/prayers of the Yotsuba (particularly Maya and Miya) for a superman-like savior when he was just a fetus. The Yotsuba originally celebrated his birth, but due to the destructive potential of his magic, Kuroba Juuzou proposed the idea of killing the new-born baby, Tatsuya but he was protected by Yotsuba Eisaku. When Tatsuya was a baby, he was raised to be a warrior. As early as when he was able to stand up, he was subjected to training in the optimization of his body. Tatsuya soon became able to walk and the combat training began. No matter how hard he cried and screamed, his will was ignored. As the family always resorted to locking him up, Tatsuya soon gave up on his rebellious attitude. Starting from killing a wild animal, then a military grade dog, then military strengthened animal, and finally a living soldier. Tatsuya first killed a man when he was six, immediately after the artificial magician experiments. He sank in a skilled 30 year old combat magician in a pool of his own blood from the very start when they tried to kill each other, neither out of an accident nor a surprise attack.Volume 16, Chapter 5 After Yotsuba Eisaku passed away, Maya took over the position of Family Head. Then, Maya and Miya made Tatsuya into a The Artificial Magician Experiment. Later Tatsuya become Miyuki's Guardian.Volume 16, Chapter 6 Revelation to the world Maya announces that Tatsuya is her son and proclaims Tatsuya and Miyuki's engagement, Tatsuya is freed from the position of Miyuki's Guardian. He is then formally recognized as a Yotsuba, though his family name is kept as Shiba for now.Volume 17, Chapter 1 Other Identities Taurus Silver Tatsuya is in fact half of the enigmatic Mr. Taurus Silver - the far famed Mr Silver ''(ミスター・シルバー) renowned as a genius engineer who advanced CAD software technology by ten years within one short year. Currently, "Taurus Silver" heads the Third Division of Four Leaves Technology. The name of ''Taurus Silver ''was used for several reasons. First, Tatsuya was not of age when he developed the Loop-Cast system that Silver is famous for; legally, it would be impossible for Tatsuya to patent any of his inventions and developments without being of age. Second, Maya wished to keep information about Tatsuya, a mere Guardian under the Yotsuba, under wraps as much as possible; having his real name attached to inventions and state-of-the-art technology would have been inconvenient (as too much attention would be placed on him and by extension, Miyuki). It seems there is a plan discussed by which Tatsuya will finally be allowed to use 'Shiba Tatsuya' for his inventions after graduation from First High School. Special Lieutenant Ooguro Ryuuya This is the alias that Tatsuya is assigned in the military (to be specific, in the 101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion) as an unregistered Strategic-Class Magician. People Identifying Tatsuya or His Alias Magic Limiter Pledge Due to the MI magic Pledge, Miyuki is made as Tatsuya's limiter and key. The leader of the Tsukuba Clan, Tsukuba Touka was the magician who used Pledge that created the seal that limits the powers of Tatsuya through Miyuki. This spell limits Tatsuya's mental activity and stops him from using his full abilities.When the limiter is released, freed Psions that are even visible briefly surrounded him in a blinding maelstrom of light. The full effects of this seal are currently unspecified and thus it's unknown if it affects his ordinary magic talent or limits his ability to use his natural magics, but it plausibly makes him unable to use his Strategic spell and blocks his access to his Psion reserves. While Miyuki is limiting her brother's abilities, her magic ability is also partially sealed as half of her Magic Power is used to seal her brother's power. This causes her magic to escape her control occasionally when under emotional stress, mostly resulting to accidentally lower the temperature in the surroundings whenever she is upset. Equipment Silver Horn Custom "Trident" (トライデント) Silver Horn Trident CAD Closeup.png|FLT Silver Horn Trident Custom Silver Horn Trident CAD, Spell Cartridges, and Case.png|Silver Horn Trident CAD, spell cartridges, and carrying case A Specialized CAD based on the long-barreled Silver Series Silver Horn. It is equipped with cartridges for most of Tatsuya's high level Decomposition magics. Tatsuya has used this CAD to cast high precision magic, decomposing needle-sized holes which target his opponents' nerves and blood vessels to incapacitate and cause severe pain. It is customized specifically to activate three consecutive magics into one Magic Sequence. In the Battalion, "Trident" is the name given to this merciless triple Decomposition magic as well as the CAD that performs this. It is Tatsuya's favored instrument. This CAD has interchangeable cartridges that can be pre-loaded with different types of magic. Volume 4, Chapter 12 Third Eye A large caliber rifle CAD designed specifically for Tatsuya to use with the Strategic Level Decomposition Magic "Material Burst." Third Eye does not fire a physical projectile, thus acceleration and movement magic sequences are not needed. The rifle is connected to a satellite to allow for precision targeting. With this CAD enhancing his own Elemental Sight, Tatsuya was able to hit a 50mg drop of water (1/20th of a milliliter) from 80 km away and the flag mast of a ship many hundreds of kilometers distant. Due to its nature as the only weapon with which Material Burst can be used reliably and quickly at long distance, the key card to the CAD case is kept by Major Kazama; the CAD itself is maintained by the engineer Captain Sanada. Captain Sanada is also the person that keeps the voice-recognition mechanism's password: in the light novel, the access code is "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity" Volume 7, Chapter 13 (a Biblical reference to a recurring sentence in the Book of Ecclesiastes); in the anime, it is "Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form" Episode 25, Yokohama Disturbance VIII (a famous saying from the the Heart Sutra, one of the best known and most popular Buddhist prayers). It is kept at the Independent Magic Equipped Battalion's headquarters. Mobile Suit Originally designed by Tatsuya, to be enhanced later by Captain Sanada; this suit has several abilities, including being bulletproof, heat resistant, shock resistant, and resistant to biological and chemical weapons; and it also sports a simple motion supplement system. A Flying Device is also attached to the belt; when coupled with the shock resistance function it can completely nullify recoil, so the operator can accurately fire weapons while in the air. A platoon of the 101st (commanded by Captain Yanagi) is equipped with these suits. Other *He is in possession of a Magatama-Class Relic, which is being researched by the FLT's 3rd Research Division Lab, his subordinates as Taurus Silver. *He has also used a grenade canister, knives, guns, bikes and a car, showing his resourcefulness. *Through Kokonoe Yakumo he has learned how to use unusual projectile weapons such as marbles, although it was noted that he required more training on this skill. *He owns an electric motorcycle and a bulletproof car. School Activities *Public Morals Committee - April 2095 ~ March 2096 Tatsuya became almost as famous as the Chief herself due to his abilities. He had the highest number of incident encounters and therefore the most apprehensions among committee members. *First High School Student Council - April 2096 ~ Present His skills are so great that he has to leave early to allow other members to carry out their duties, otherwise he would be running the Student Council alone. When he first joined the Student Council in 2095 he was on the Public Morals Committee; but proceeding into the following year he was promoted to Vice President as per Miyuki's wishes. *Nine Schools Competition - AD 2095 & AD 2096 He was a part of the engineering team and was lauded for the athletes in his care winning First Place for every event he was in charge of. Tatsuya also participated in Monolith Code, and was responsible for winning First Place while beating Ichijou Masaki in a head-on confrontation. *National High School Magic Theory Thesis Competition - AD 2095 He was a part of the Thesis writing team, aiding Ichihara Suzune. He was responsible for the calibration of the magic techniques used during the demonstration. Academic Grades Magical abilities aside Tatsuya could be said to be one of First High's most outstanding students, coming in first place on the theory portions of the exams every single time. His average in the theory portion during his early first year was easily a dozen points higher than the second place score, which belonged to his sister Miyuki. Over the course of the series he has maintained distinctions and his grades have yet to falter, something that could be owed to his intellect and encyclopedic knowledge. Trivia *Shiba Tatsuya's personality, equipment, names and abilities are heavily based on the god Shiva (Mahesvara). Shiva is one of the most revered and fascinating figures in Hindu mythology; he is the god who represents everything outside the established system, described as being both God and the Devil in one and is heavily worshiped and feared. Shiva is held to be the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the four largest sects within Hinduism. His weapon is a trident, which is also the name given to Tatsuya's ultimate weapon. *His nickname Destroyer or of Destruction was given to him by Raymond Clark, one of the Seven Sages. *Tatsuya has admittedly called several female characters beautiful in different degrees in his thoughts, though he has never shown any trace of arousal or attraction, as well as outward embarrassment, regardless of the situations or how a female character presents themselves to him. *Tatsuya's voice actor is '''Yuuichi Nakamura', the same person who had voiced Kyousuke Kousaka, the male protagonist of Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai. Many fans have found this humorous due to the fact that Shiba Miyuki's voice actress is Saori Hayami, the same person who had voiced Ayase Aragaki of the same show. Ironically, Ayase would often criticize Kyousuke due to his sis-con personality. And 'Kana Hanazawa, '''who voiced Ruri Gokou, is also the voice actress of Saegusa Mayumi. It's another coincidence because both girls have harbored romantic feelings for the main protagonist. *Tatsuya and Miyuki appear on the commercial board of a building in Accel World Episode 6. *It was mentioned in the Summer Holiday Chapter that Tatsuya's body was covered with scars all over, except for his head. *It may be a coincidence, but Tatsuya's initials are "ST", the reverse of ''Taurus Silver, "TS". (Note that in Japan, family names are typically said first, e.g. Shiba Tatsuya) *Similarly, the writer Tsutomu Satou's initials are "TS" as well, although this too may be a coincidence. *Despite only being seventeen, many people who personally know Tatsuya assume that he is older than his actual age; Fujibayashi being one of them. The only exception is Mayumi who compared him to a child. *His speech mannerisms could be said to rival even those living in the upper class society. *Although Tatsuya was stated to be mundane looking, he has attracted the affection of three women that are considered incredibly beautiful: Miyuki, Mayumi, and Honoka. Notes References Category:Japan Category:Magicians Category:First High School Category:Weeds Category:Public Morals Committee Category:Student Council Category:Magic Engineering Course Category:Guardian Category:BS Magicians Category:Ancient Magic User Category:Military Category:101 Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion Category:Strategic-Class Magicians Category:Yotsuba Category:Ten Master Clans